That bear behind you does not look real.

Why is it that whenever I'm in LA I'm surprised to find myself in LA.

Why is the only person in jail for the Epstein affair a woman? (sigh)

May I recommend this meditative little video of how a Linotype machine works? youtu.be/HEsAXZg-S04

I spotted a book I have in my personal collection in Guillermo del Toro new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Elizabeth shows Victor a book she bought and it is “Episodes of Insect Life” by Acheta Domestica, M. E. S. a pseudonym for Louise M. Budgen, London, 1851. #hernaturalhistory

It's been cool to see so many mention Milton's Paradise Lost in their feeds. I can remember reading it as an undergrad and having my mind blown. I wish more students had a natural interest in early poetry, but I guess all I can do is meet them when they show up. Fit audience, tho few . . .

Even here in CO

Somebody played extra hard with her friends today.

Worth a read, y'all.

Enduring mystery: why doesn't Chewbacca get a medal at the end of episode IV? Such an injustice.

The black square page (marking a character's death) in "Tristram Shandy" (1759)

Wanna see a murder?

Listen, I'm not gonna use AI to help me write this thing. I'm gonna struggle, procrastinate, self-hate, agonize, and suffer -- just as god intended!

I'm all for recycling, up-cycling, and reusing. But wearing someone else's workout clothes? With the sweat and . . . I don't care how well you wash 'em. No thanks.

If you know anyone who works on medieval Judaism, please send them this! Binghamton is hiring a Talmud/Rabbinics assistant prof: half in Judaic Studies, half in the Med/Ren center. A killer R1 job for the right person, and not a ton of applicants so far....

I’ve worked in a few old bookstores. This candle smells better than all of them.

Classroom teachers barely have time to teach the material they're tasked with teaching. I think about this when students tell me they'll major in education as undergrads.

THANK YOU. He's NOT a DOCTOR or PROFESSOR. He's an undergrad. Huzzah.

Newsom’s team doesn’t miss a beat.

English majors: still punk after all these years.

Remember remember . . .

BREAKING: Colorado voters approved a ballot measure that would raise state income taxes on higher-earning households to fund free meals for all public school students. Follow AP for live updates.

Alright, CA, let's see what ya got.

I'm guessing Cuomo is moving to Florida now?

Pleased for VA. But, gosh, I'd very much like to see a female president of the United States before I die.

And while I'm at it, why the hell to do I have to pay my employer to park my car to do my job? I can't afford to live in the expensive neighborhood where the college resides, so I can't walk to work. But the the administrators who make 2, 3, or 4 times what I make park for free. Bah. Humbug. Rage.

Strangely, I think it's up to the people who actually live in NYC to elect their next mayor. Ain't none 'o my business.

Cranky professor rant: why do students not use names in greetings over email anymore? "hello" "hey" etc. Because no one uses names when they text? I am not a robot. I don't want to treat you like a robot. I have a name and so do you. Let's be human for crying out loud. :(

Once more, with feeling: Jew hatred antedates modern constructions of wh*teness by literally thousands of years. It's cannot be understood or effectively countered solely in terms of contemporary racial politics.

For some reason I binged that “boots” show on Netflix. Not sure if I liked it, but now I want to join the marines in the 1990s.

It's 5:30pm and dark.

Sometimes I really miss Philly. Just want to take a long walk and get lost in the grit and urban density of it all.

How the hell is it November?????

Carved this one for my daughter who is a first year at #Macalester college. Go Scots!

More pumpkin shenanigans

a wee bit 'o Burns for Halloween

Warming up my carving muscles. Halloween!

I really love teaching poetry. If I can just get ‘em to sign up they love it, too, but(ah) to get them to sign up. (Sigh)

19th century bookplate ‘WITH THE LEAVES NOT TURNED DOWN’ still speaks hundreds of years later - yes you can borrow it but please look after it. #booksky #moonsbookshop#bookshopsofcumbria #antiquarianbookshop #findingnewhomesforoldbookssince1970 #whitehaven

I've already reached the "I don't give a f#$%" stage of my career. Should I offer a course next year on #Tolkien or #StarWars. (alas, no poll options here)

All of a sudden everyone's an expert on Tolkien.

my office has a peek-a-boo view of the college chapel every so often

The abject horror when one finds one can neither quit nor retire.

I cannot understand why one would do this.

These two are clearly up to no good.

“The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.” --- Adam Smith (1723-1790) #History #Capitalism #Scotland

Del Toro's _Frankenstein_ was good, y'all. More to follow. . . .

I've been working on this essay so long that I had to change a phrase from "Two decades ago, [x] noted that . . . " to "Three decades ago . . ." Help.